I lived in Vermont Street Sutherland from 1952 to 1955, and again in 1963-4. At the bottom of the street on the intersection with what was then Waratah Street was a corner shop – a shop very well known to me. There was a butcher next door. I see from Google that the building is still there, but appears empty. That looks like a For Sale sign.

1964! I was deeply embedded in the by then uber-Calvinist Sutherland Presbyterian Church, turned 21, wrote a thesis on King Lear, and had hepatitis. The previous year I had worked at the MLC Insurance Company in Martin Place. By the end of 1964 I was a BA (Hons) – but the truth is I knew bugger-all really.

And World War I was just 50 years on.

In the shop were Mr and Mrs Morris – name anglicised I would think. She seemed about twice the size of him and really seemed to be running the shop. You would often find them reading behind the counter. Perhaps because I was known to be an educated young fellow I would sometimes be greeted oddly. One time the opening line was “What do you think of Spinoza’s philosophy?” I had little to say in reply as they knew far more about it than I did!

You see the Morrises were Jewish – rather unusual in The Shire. In time they told me quite a bit about their life, but I was too young and too crass to explore it more. Like many they had come via China to Australia, but during World War 1 they were here:

“We came from Iraq, from a place called The Tomb of Ezra”.  See this 2008 article IRAQ: Amid war, a prophet’s shrine survives. See also Ezra’s Tomb.

Ezra’s Tomb or the Tomb of Ezra (Arabic: العزير‎ Al-ʻUzair, Al-ʻUzayr, Al-Azair) is a location in Iraq on the western shore of the Tigris that was popularly believed to be the burial place of the biblical figure Ezra. Al-ʻUzair is the present name of the settlement that has grown up around the tomb.

Photograph of Ezra’s Tomb, early 20th century. ISIL would surely disapprove.

I was indeed amazed at the time. The Morrises said the first they ever heard of Australia was in 1915 when they thought Australians must be giants for taking on the Ottomans at Gallipoli. The idea of one day making their way here came to them then. And so in their 60s or early 70s there they were, in our funny little corner shop in Vermont Street Sutherland.

Last night’s excellent recreation of the Anzac landing in The War that Changed Us made me think of the Morrises 50 years ago.

See also The War That Changed Us: Series director Don Featherstone on making the program and the ABC’s World War 1 Page.